March 17, 2010

A lesson learned at "South by" shared

Sad because you didn't make it to the interactive portion of SSWi? Lots of people are writing about their experienes, putting some weight behind the 140-character, live coverage Tweets.

I enjoyed reading Top Ten Lessons I Learned at South By Southwest from Escaping Mediocrity

Here's one lesson that goes beyond this meetup:
10. Sometimes when you meet the people you know online, they are way WAY better than you even imagined. And sometimes, they totally suck. I experienced both. It was a great reminder that people can put forth whatever personality they want to online. The only way to determine its truth is to meet them in real life.
Let me just add that when someone doesn't want to meet offline that might be a warning to lower the trust element or at least draw back on the personal information and insights you're sharing. See, I think that's just one of the ways you might discover the prince you're talking with might actually be a dog.

Being a butterfly: Flitting from project to project

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Or, if you prefer, Happy Day!

Today, I am a butterfly, flitting from project to project. Deadlines do that to me. Suddenly, I can find a zillion other things that need to be done while working on something facing a deadline. And, you know, those zillion things are important and need to be done. Just not right now.

(But then, FarmVille probably shouldn't be in a tab either. Shhh. Don't tell anyone I slipped into break mode.)

March 16, 2010

Google everywhere: Erases that bad thought

Boy, Google is getting darn right personal.

First, I noticed that my Google search results now come up with suggestions from my friends. That nice Google tool even tells me how I know that person - through Twitter, through that network or this.

I can't seem to shut Google Play off in my Reader, so I'm getting more suggestions of what to read there. (Hello, Play and Google do you see how many feeds are unread?!? If you really want to help, tell me which ones are echo chambers and where to cut. I'm an information hoarder and I need help!)

I also thought it was Google that was been getting more pushy on my browser with its suggestions of where I go next while I was surfing, but that turned out to be Feedly.

Still, I just logged into Gmail for a pre-dinner check while mulling over exactly what is it that bothers me about this latest request to "teach me everything you know. I have an hour" request.

That led me to think about how various people approached sharing what they found at SXSW, the music/film/geek/oh-my-God-how-come-I-missed-it-again event. For just a moment, I wondered what it would be like to be XXX (name doesn't really matter, now does it) when up popped this quote on my Gmail:

Kurt Cobain - "Wanting to be someone else is a waste of the person you are."

So, OK, I get that and will stop lusting for their lives. A part of me knows no one lives perfection 24/7 despite the perfect picture they present to the world. Besides, life's challenges prevent boredum.

Still I wish I knew the right answer for people who want a brain dump of years squashed into minutes.

March 15, 2010

Spring = opportunity

One of the highlights of spring is all the birthing that goes on. It's a reminder of cycles and a reminder that we, too, can be reborn.

Spring is newness. Spring is young. Spring is opportunity.

Just as the shoots of new plants push through once frozen ground, we can push through the barriers that keep us separated from our goals, our opportunities, our best.